INSPIRED BY ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BROAD JEWELED COLLARS, this elegant necklace rests on your shoulders, framing your collarbone in a graceful way. In a balancing act not for the timid, the piece brings together thread, stones, chain, and crystals to make a little black dress anything but basic. When the woven collar is off duty, rest it on your dresser or on a stack of books. It deserves to be seen.
30 in/76 cm of gold curb chain, 14 mm
7 skeins embroidery floss in several neutral colors
2 gold end caps
1 strand of 48 rondelle beads, at least 12 in/30.5 cm long; round beads will also work
10 gold headpins
5 crystal sew-on baguette stones in metal settings, 10 mm wide × 30 mm long
3 black diamond baguette stones, 20 mm wide × 7 mm long
1 large gold spring ring clasp
10 medium gold jump rings
1 large gold jump ring
Clippers
Ruler
Scissors
Sewing needle
Super Glue
Masking or washi tape (optional)
Binder clip (optional)
Chain-nose pliers
Round-nose pliers
E-6000 glue
Connect the chain
1 From the length of gold curb chain, cut two rows: one 17 in/43 cm long and one 12 in/30.5 cm long. Lay them out on a flat work surface in a gentle curve, as if they were resting on your shoulders. Center the shorter chain below the longer chain. A
2 Thread the needle with 1 full strand of embroidery floss, about 8 yd/8 m long, then fold it over itself to double it.
3 Using the very end of the thread, tie the leftmost link of the short chain to the long chain, using a triple knot. Add a dab of Super Glue to secure it. B
4 To use the threaded needle to lash the chains together, come from underneath the chain and through the first link. C
5 Wrap the thread around the first link twice. D
6 Move onto the next link by coming from underneath the second link and wrapping that link twice. E
7 Continue wrapping until you’ve reached the end of the shortest chain. Knot the thread, trim any excess thread, and add a dab of Super Glue to secure the knot.
Add the beads
8 To add the beads, start by knotting the thread at the same spot on the end of the short chain. Slide the end cap onto the thread, followed by the strand of rondelles. Leave this strand unknotted for now, since the length will vary. Be careful not to spill the beads at the end as you’re working. You can fold a piece of masking or washi tape over the end of the thread for extra security. F
9 Tie the last of the thread from that skein to the same spot and use this thread to wrap around each rondelle bead, securing them to the chain. As you go around, make sure to keep the necklace on a curve, pushing each rondelle into place. When you get to the end of the short chain, remove any excess rondelles and add the second end cap to the embroidery thread. Tie both threads to the end of the chain, cut any excess thread, and add a dab of Super Glue to secure the knots and the end caps in place. G
10 Cut 5 skeins of the embroidery thread into 1 yd/1 m sections. Reserve 3 yd/3 m of embroidery thread.
11 Use half of the reserved thread to wrap around the bundle of thread created in step 5 about 1 in/2.5 cm from the ends. Knot it, trim any excess thread, and add a dab of Super Glue to secure the knot. Divide the knotted thread into the three sections and braid them until you have about 17 in/43 cm of braid. Leave the end loose for now. If you’d like, use a binder clip to hold it in place for extra security while you work, but the thread tends to hold its shape well.
12 To attach the braid, lay the necklace on the work surface so that it maintains its curved shape. Position the braid inside the curve and shape it into place so that it creates a complementary curve. With the thread doubled, thread the needle with the last long strand of embroidery thread. Use it to stitch the braid to the chain. To do so, sew the needle through several of the closest threads and tie this to the first link on the longest chain. Add a dab of Super Glue to secure the knot. H
13 Lash each link of chain to the braid, picking up several threads with each stitch. As you reach the end of the braid, you may need to braid several more inches of thread in order to reach the end of the chain. Wrap the thread bundle, knot it, trim any excess thread, and add some Super Glue to secure the knot. I
Attach the crystals and clasp
14 Slide a headpin through each of the holes in the large crystal baguettes. Attach the crystal baguettes to the bottom of the necklace with a simple wrapped loop. Glue the metal setting on the top of each of the three black diamond baguettes to the metal setting on the bottom of the three center crystal baguettes with E-6000 glue.
15 Attach the large spring ring clasp to one side of the chain with two pairs of medium jump rings. Attach a large jump ring to the right-hand side of the chain with three pairs of medium jump rings. Since the necklace ends up being rather heavy, doubling up on the jump rings gives it more security.
